Tips on Pistol Shooting

[fantumfan2003]

Dear hvj1,

What should be the strategy to not get overwhelmed by the MQS bogie and put in one's best performance ??????

Please elaborate....

M.

But, I have taken it on a positive note and started afresh for the next year. Hopefully, I will do much better next time.

Regards
major

Thats the spirit, always find a positive in the worst case scenario.
Best Regards

[hvj1]

Hello FF,
"A journey of a 1000 mile begins with the first step", and that first step is purely mental, in very much the same way, we plan an actual journey. We plan as follows;
1. What is my destination?
2. How far is it?
3. What mode of transport do I use?
4. Identify the list of wherewithals?
5. Physically what is required of you?
6. And the most important and final objective- Whatever be the mode of travel, YOU WISH IT TO BE A PLEASANT JOURNEY.

Please think about what I have said, i shall get back on this line of thought shortly.
Best Regards.

[dev]

Hi Jitu,

Even I burned out at the Delhi State. It is okay so relax. the need for familiarization with the range is really very important.
I had been unable to go to the range even though I stay in Delhi. When I did a replay of what went wrong, I realised that the day before my successful attempt at the last Delhi State, I had shot very badly in my practice session.
With this tube light moment everything made sense to me. For me I must shoot at the edge of the black on the electronic target to get the same effect of the sub six on the paper target.
The next and really stupid thing was that I hadn't cleaned my barrel for a year. Last night when I shot shotgun groups I almost slapped myself. It had been through about a thousand pellets without cleaning. So let's see tonight after cleaning the pistol. Yes the darn wettankampf or whatever pellets they are really dirty the barrel.
I had tried to be so cool that I had gone with the packet of pellets that I had been using at home. So there I was at the range chucking the ones with damaged rims on to the floor.
Guess you are never too old for new mistakes.

Best of luck and pick the shastra up gain dear warrior, a new battle looms ahead.

Regards,

Dev

[jitu sati]

thanks dev. i have learned the following things from my miss-shoot
1. i have to plan to be at the range a day prior with time to spare as the real feeling can only be gained by shooting at the particular range.
2. i need to remain focussed. the vagaries of decision making will take place and i should have kept sitting at the range till the particular detail started. i would have been much more composed.
3. the aiming area at the electronic range appears to be slightly different. need to check it out during the prac.
4. i am guilty of having my attention go haywire and loosing track of the time. can not afford to do that. had i regrouped and sat down for five min. may be the result would have been different.
5. i have also been guilty of shooting scored prac matches everyday prior to the comp for a week. i became to score conscious. so when the habituated feed back of the score became absent in the electronic range my self belief suffered. i feel i should prac the 8 ring continously without scoring till gvm to get the prac of hitting the 9 ring wihthout getting the feedback on the point of impact.
6. last but not the least, need to get a good nights sleep before the shoot day. i was already high strung since the morning and it must have affected my performance.
but the positive aspect is i have learnt a lot and it was great shooting at a range where the greats have shot. this exp will certainly help me improve in gvm

[airgun_novice]

Dear Jitu,

Reading your experience made my hair stand up on its end. Why ? I practically had (almost) exactly the same exp at GFG-II. Tirpassion, did you read the diary pages I mailed you ? Right down to same radiator et al problemo except it happened after the match. Techincally, your 345 would weigh as much as 354 or even 364 from GVM's perspective; may be not from RJ rankings. So congrats for making it to GVM. See y'all there. Have heart - it's inspiring words from you guys that made me hold the fort when I was all set to give up - twice. Good luck.

regs
A
Tirpassion, when are you arriving in India ? Pune confirmed ? Any chances at tweaking so you can make to Japaloupe ? Jitu, any visit to Pune-Mumbai aroung 28th October ?

[hvj1]

FF
"A journey of a 1000 mile begins with the first step", and that first step is purely mental, in very much the same way, we plan an actual journey. We plan as follows;
1. What is my destination?
2. How far is it?
3. What mode of transport do I use?
4. Identify the list of wherewithals?
5. Physically what is required of you?
6. And the most important and final objective- Whatever be the mode of travel, YOU WISH IT TO BE A PLEASANT JOURNEY.

To my mind the DESTINATION or your goal should not be the MQS, like in a journey, you cross several stations before you arrive at your final destination. Similarly the MQS should be one of the stations on the way to your final destination.
Just as you wizz past stations on the way, not paying too much attention nor importance, the same way the MQS should not be paid attention to nor importance.
Having said that, i can hear the refrain from you- But what could be more important than the MQS? Isint that what we are struggling about?

Remember, we need to make the journey pleasant, pleasurable and enjoyable. In order to do this, the complete focus, emphasis and importance is on the EXECUTION OF EACH SHOT. The correct execution of the shot should give you PLEASURE and JOY. and THE CORRECT EXECUTION OF THE SHOT and the resulting pleasure in doing so is YOUR FINAL DESTINATION.

To execute your shot correctly and to obtain that pleasure, you need to execute each and every step of your SOA with full and complete concentration.
To execute a string of such shots (without changing your grip) is a far more important goal than the MQS.
To be so completely focussed in executing shot after shot, string after string, till you realize that you have finished the match and that you were shooting in the ZONE and in RHYTHM.
THIS SHOULD BE YOUR GOAL.
You need to apply discipline in your mental thought process for each SOA. Learn to focus completely on your SOA, PUSH aside all thoughts that have nothing to do with your SOA aside. Gradually, with due dilligince and effort, (Box Drilling) you will be able to complete the match with this FOCUS.

Now we talk about the wherewithals, the mental ones are crucial some of these are as follows;

1. Please ALL OF YOU GUYS LEARN TO RESPECT YOURSELF When you write on this forum, I do not understand on what premise or mistaken identity you make comments that DEMEAN YOURSELF.
Comments such as "Oh what a fool I was, how stupid I am, etc etc..... It really pains me to read such stuff. Are these comments made in order to be humble? Humility is fine but not at the expense of your SELF RESPECT......

Drill yourself, train yourself never ever to demean yourself in YOUR OWN THOUGHTS FIRST AND FOREMOST. A healthy self respect leads to healthy SELF IMAGE, which in turn leads to higher virtues.

Dress like a begger and you will become one. So mentally, please dress correctly, always and above all have self respect for yourself.

This is a prayer song from the movie Guddi ( Jaya Bachan). humko man ki shakti dena, man VIjay karen. Doosro ke jai se pehle, KHUDKI JAI KAREIN

[airgun_novice]

Thank you guruji for boxing the ears, I shall approach MAWC on Mon-Tue with a fresh outlook and a brighter light.

[airgun_novice]

A quick Q on the pellets. In fact, there should have been no doubt in my mind but then self-experience v/s seniors' experience often brings out the duality and pushing the thought process through the prism . I primarily used Mastershot (yellow plastic) for practice, They score the desired shots very well a shade better than gsmith. But last week an experienced shooter showed me what a fool I was to use them for practice. I should be using RWS Club (Sportline) at least. The gsmith and MS are for beginners who start on the saftey course with IHP N25. After spedning so much on tournaments and travel for prax/ tournaments why do "chindigiri" wrt pellets ?

Well, so I got me a tin of RWS Club from VS. My experience was that they did group better than MS but there was no change in Desired Shot (#9 & #10) %. So I started doing what I should not be doing - scored. Now another surprise - Out of last 8 matches (4 with RWS and 4 with MS), I ended up scoring 10-15 points higher and that too consistently with MS than RWS. A day saw two back to back matches - one with RWS and one with MS. So to experiment, on last two events (i.e. last 4 matches) I shot with RWS first and then with MS - the logic being "inferior" MS and some amount of fatigue would cause the second score to dip. But wonder of wonders - all of those matches saw me score higher with MS. Plus added to that the pre-RWS Club two matches which I shot only with MS. Overall only once did RWS score (a bit more) than MS but on all the rest MS scored 10-15 over RWS.

So, should I stick on MS for practice and use RWS R-10 or FInale Match or H & N for actual tournaments or do I get used to better imported pellets for practice and eventually hope to settle with them ? It's a dilema akin to newer version of linux working well with older Intel hardware chipset than with latest.

[fantumfan2003]

hvj1,

Many, Many Thanks for the guidance.
The way forward for me is as you have said here.......Nothing else.....

Remember, we need to make the journey pleasant, pleasurable and enjoyable. In order to do this, the complete focus, emphasis and importance is on the EXECUTION OF EACH SHOT. The correct execution of the shot should give you PLEASURE and JOY. and THE CORRECT EXECUTION OF THE SHOT and the resulting pleasure in doing so is YOUR FINAL DESTINATION.

To execute your shot correctly and to obtain that pleasure, you need to execute each and every step of your SOA with full and complete concentration.
To execute a string of such shots (without changing your grip) is a far more important goal than the MQS.
To be so completely focussed in executing shot after shot, string after string, till you realize that you have finished the match and that you were shooting in the ZONE and in RHYTHM.
THIS SHOULD BE YOUR GOAL.
You need to apply discipline in your mental thought process for each SOA. Learn to focus completely on your SOA, PUSH aside all thoughts that have nothing to do with your SOA aside. Gradually, with due dilligince and effort, (Box Drilling) you will be able to complete the match with this FOCUS.

What you have said below, is also important for all of us in our other lives, not just in shooting....
I suppose derating one-self goes hand in hand with "fight and flee" games one plays with one self. Derating one self in the face of imminent or immediate adverse circumstances makes it so much easier for one to live with ones own mediocrity and lack of effort to do better.

I have done this to myself on many occasions in the recent past and am amazed at myself that I am the same one who took on everyone and everything fearlessly, less than a decade ago. While I do have a sense of why things have come to such state of affairs, its a tough going all the way AND all that we can do is keep fighting to do better and keep mediocrity at bay. Positive attitude is the only weapon we have to fight with but it gets blunted far more quickly than we would like it to.......

Many thanks again for the insight......

M.

Now we talk about the wherewithals, the mental ones are crucial some of these are as follows;

1. Please ALL OF YOU GUYS LEARN TO RESPECT YOURSELF When you write on this forum, I do not understand on what premise or mistaken identity you make comments that DEMEAN YOURSELF.
Comments such as "Oh what a fool I was, how stupid I am, etc etc..... It really pains me to read such stuff. Are these comments made in order to be humble? Humility is fine but not at the expense of your SELF RESPECT......

Drill yourself, train yourself never ever to demean yourself in YOUR OWN THOUGHTS FIRST AND FOREMOST. A healthy self respect leads to healthy SELF IMAGE, which in turn leads to higher virtues.

Dress like a begger and you will become one. So mentally, please dress correctly, always and above all have self respect for yourself.

This is a prayer song from the movie Guddi ( Jaya Bachan). humko man ki shakti dena, man VIjay karen. Doosro ke jai se pehle, KHUDKI JAI KAREIN

[jitu sati]

hey hvj. i thank you immensely. hence forth the complete effort will be to gain a smooth and clockwork like SOA during the shoot. i am going to switch off my mind as far as the score goes. and i know with the guidance of the gurus i will be successful. presently i am concentrating on the box drill with 9 ring as one thing which did bother me during NZ was i did not operate the trigger with smoothness, instead i held on for the right moment and ended up delaying the shot which affected my performance. hence i am going to do just this prac till GVM . and i shall improve

[tirpassion]

Guruji,
Thanks a lot for the lesson which throwed another beam of light on the thread.

Incidentally, Brihaji gave a very good tip on self esteem. Stand straight in front of the mirror everyday, look in your eyes and tell yourself that you are a better person today and feel it.
I am working on it as well as the mental part of shooting and I have found to my surprise that I shoot pretty well if not better when my fellow shooter friends look at me. Earlier I used to avoid that because it used to put a lot of pressure on my shoulders.

best regards
tirpassion

[tirpassion]

But last week an experienced shooter showed me what a fool I was to use them for practice.

agn, mere bade bhai, please read the last post of Guruji again... nobody is a fool and very surely not you.

Now, please stop the confusion of pellets. Get a vise, clamp you AP and find which pellet groups the best. For your information, the very high level shooters do a test of different lots of the same brand of ammunition to check the regularity of performance. Both you and I are still not in that level. So we can very well dispose of that idea. But in case, if that satisfies your quest.....

I repeat, I use RWS Club pellets because they are cheap (3.70 Euros or Rs. 250/- for a tin of 500), lightweight (.45g) and I have been scoring correctly with them. I have tried expensive pellets also with no better output. So, why waste money?

If you are still confused, I will give you a suggestion. Adopt one brand which is least confusing for you and do not ever change. If the RWS club is available at cheap price, use it. It will keep your barrel in good health.

best regards
tirpassion

[tirpassion]

Dear friends,

Please do not get bogged down. I will narrate my experiences of the last three weeks from which I have learnt a great deal of lessons. In case it helps you.

Three weeks back, I was training as usual, working on the the trigger control box drill. I was hovering around 92%. Reached 95% one day and dared to count the score. 30 tens, 25 nines and 5 eights. The total came up to 565.
I was looking for more and more quickly. Instead of continuing with the same work, I ventured out to fine tune my pistol. I increased considerably the 2nd stage trigger weight after reading some suggestions.
Moral: Never fiddle with your settings in which you are used to or you are getting used to.
We shot a intraclub match two days later (29/09/12). I scored 526/600. Yes, 526.

I changed back to the earlier settings but the confidence took a punch. Back to basics, I started by reading the diary since the day I took up training under the instructions of Guruji. The blood started to warm-up again and then started to boil. I took up the SA hold box drill. Faltered on the 1st day with 98% (59/60). Did 100% the next day. Switched on to the SOA box drill with dry firing at home. Did 93% the first day and 97% the second day.
I went for the first club level open match of the season on 06/10/12. Went there with a lot of tension and with a lot of determination to overcome the mishap of the last week. It was really important for me for my own self esteem. I scored 548/600. I was relieved.
Moral: Read you own shooting diary from time to time from the beginning. If you have filled it up with positive thoughts, which you must have had out of principle, it will surely charge you up and make you surpass any barrier.
Use your diary properly. Afterall, you have not written notes on it since days for nothing.

Since then, I did live shooting on the 8th October (SOA drill 88%) and on 10th October (SOA dril 90%).
Today, I participated in another Club level open match. There was an unwanted, unexpected event which I could manage to ignore to some extent. Just before the start of the match, I was asked to change the lane because it was to be used by a crossbow shooter. The person who told me to change the lane literally told me to get out of the lane 18 and take lane 13. I did not argue that nobody told it to me earlier before my lane was designated. Ignore and keep your calm, I said to myself and shifted everything to lane n°13. After 5 sighter shots, started with 8, 10, 8, 10, 8, 8, 10, 10, 9, 9 = 90 in the 1st set, a rhythmic down/up, down/up. 91 in the second and lots of crosses in the box drill boxes. In effect, I could not completely ignore the lane change event. The frozen finger effect was there also. I took a seated break and relaxed. Guruji's words came flashing back; Enjoy the ride... but how to enjoy when the trigger finger is frozen and there are so many shot cancellations? I went back to the lane, aimed and cancelled again. But this time, I brought down my hand without any change on the grip force and with the left hand checked the forefingers to verify what pressure I was exerting on the grip. It was too much and I was not even conscious about it. So before lifting the AP, I started to self command to loosen the forefingers. Things changed immediately and I started enjoying. Moreover, I saw some of my friends behind me. I do not know how, I could not just stand the fact of doing badly in front of my friends (They were perhaps not looking at me but their presence had an effect on me). The 3rd and the 4th set went for 95 and 94 respectively. The last two sets went for 92 and 92 where I could not keep the same intensity and could not get enough tens although there were very good 9s.
But at the end with 90, 91, 95, 94 (370), 92 & 92 = 554/600, I am happy today with a certain degree of prudence because the SOA% was quite low (78%). So, I am not complacent. I am gaining my confidence back thanks to my diary and will surely do better next time. Moreover, I have discovered that my conscience refuses to present a hapless image of myself in front of my fellow shooters . I would point out that earlier, I used to be a bit uneasy (not to the extent of losing all my faculties) shooting in front of other shooters from our club, or friends looking at me shooting.

When you plan to go back to the basics, go back really to the basics and do them with firm determination.

best regards
tirpassion

[jitu sati]

hey tir
pl advice on what i should concentrate ontill gvm i have already peened down my experience and conclusions. but expert opinion pl

[hvj1]

Another very important mental wherewithal is ENTHUSIASM. It first and foremost serves the purpose of a litmus test for your Goal(s).
When you set a 'goal', you should be all fired up and this enthusiasm should not wear off as the novelty of working towards your goals would.
When you think of your goal, the enthusiasm should return renewed, especially after you have been through some heavy weather in pursuit of your goal. Chasing goals in life is hard work, but the journey (as I have said before) becomes a pleasant one, a pleasurable one, when we are full of enthusiasm. Then no amount of setbacks (apart from a poor self image) can hold you back from putting in the effort required to attain your goal.
If you are not enthusiastic, or it has worn off along the way, then probably you lack in self motivation or you have bitten off far more than what you can chew.